Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud has urged UNDP to scale up its support for accessing international climate financing through capacity building of the concerned public and private sector entities.

He made the request when UNDP Country Representative Stefan Liller called on him at his office on Sunday.

The Foreign Minister acknowledged the importance of expediting and streamlining the internal approval processes for grants-based climate financing.

He underscored the need for UN system-wide scanning to assess the status of project approval for further inter-ministerial coordination.

Foreign Minister Hasab recalled his long association with the UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner and reiterated his invitation to the latter to visit Bangladesh this year.

He also expressed satisfaction at the recent successful visit by the UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.

The UNDP Country Representative appreciated Bangladesh’s role as the UNDP Board President in 2024.

He also thanked Bangladesh for being the only LDC among the top core budget contributors to UNDP.

He reaffirmed UNDP’s commitment to support Bangladesh on its development pathway towards a smooth and sustainable LDC graduation.

The Foreign Minister welcomed UNDP’s offer to contribute further to capacity building for climate diplomacy, implementing Blue Economy strategy, and addressing trans-boundary marine and air pollution.

He commended UNDP’s support for digital innovation and public service delivery in Bangladesh.

The UNDP Representative observed that a number of such innovations are being replicated in other developing countries under the framework of South-South Cooperation.